WO2002070341A2

WO2002070341A2 - Cedar impression siding corner

Info

Publication number: WO2002070341A2
Application number: PCT/US2002/006588
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stephen William Steffes; Robert David Shaw
Original assignee: Certainteed Corporation
Priority date: 2001-03-01
Filing date: 2002-03-01
Publication date: 2002-09-12
Also published as: US20020121057A1; CA2404414C; CA2404414A1; US20020162291A1; WO2002070341A3; US6684587B2; AU2002248532A1

Abstract

A corner piece (200) for covering the corner of a structure with mating walls having siding containing multiple shingle impression courses attached thereto includes a first wall (202) having an exterior face (204) with first (208) and second (210) lateral edges and a second wall (212) having an exterior face (214) with first (218) and second (220) lateral edges. The exterior faces (204, 214) of the first (202) and second (212) walls include an ornamental appearance containing a plurality of vertically stacked shingle impressions (230). The shingle impressions (230) of the exterior faces (204, 214) are staggered at least along the second (210, 220) lateral edges. These staggered shingle portions overlap at least a portion of the siding panels when the siding panels and corner piece (200) are attached to the structure. The staggered shingle portions and multiple shingle impression courses of the siding panels cooperate to give the appearance that the corner piece (200) substantially blends into the siding panels.

Description

CEDAR IMPRESSION SIDING CORNER

Field of the Invention [0001] This invention relates to siding products generally, and more particularly to siding corners having cedar impressions formed thereon.

Background of the Invention

[0002] Wooden shingles and shakes are very popular and attractive siding products used in the construction of homes, businesses and other structures. Unfortunately, these wooden products require constant maintenance, and are extremely expensive, as well as labor intensive to install. Further, the durability of wooden products, such as those constructed from cedar, lags far behind that of products made of synthetic materials. Therefore, a considerable number of synthetic siding products have been created that simulate the wooden appearance of, for example, cedar shingles or cedar shake shingles. Thess siding products are typically formed from materials such as polyvinyl chloride and polypropylene.

[0003] Once siding panels are installed onto the exterior sheathing of a structure, it often becomes necessary to place a corner cap over the exposed ends of the siding panels. Efforts have been made to match the ornamental appearance of the siding panel with the corner cap appearance, so as to avoid an unaesthetic or artificial looking final structure. One example is the simulated shake siding corner described in U.S. Patent No. 4,015,391 to Epstein, et al. entitled "Simulated Cedar Shake Construction," issued April 5, 1977, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Epstein describes simulated cedar shake siding panels that are attached to the outside walls of a structure and a corner piece 70 that may be used in conjunction with the described siding panels.

[0004] The Epstein corner 70, illustrated in FIGS. 1A through IF, is formed with a shake impression thereon in order to match the shake appearance provided by the siding panels, also described in Epstein and shown in FIG. IF. The siding corner 70 simulates two shakes 71,73 nailed or otherwise mitre attached at about 90°, one to the other. The corner piece 70 is formed with the horizontal base 72 approximating in size the normal depth of natural shakes. A vertical lip 74 extends from the inside edge of horizontal base 72 and locks two overlapping comers 70 when it engages slot receptor 80 formed between the base of nose 78 and planes of the pre-apertured nailing tab 76. Two comers 70 may be interfitted butt-end to head-end when the lip 74 is received inside slot receptor 80, as illustrated in FIG. lC. The shake faces 71, 73 are angled forward from top to bottom so that the lip 74 can enter slot receptor 80 of the next lowest comer 70. The nailing tab 76 seats against the wall surfaces and may be nailed thereto. FIG. IF is a plan view of a siding facade including a plurality of stacked comers 70, one on top of the other, with the shake faces 71,73 overlapping the side edges of simulated shake panels 97, 95, 91, 93 nailed to two walls of a structure.

[0005] FIG. 2A of the Epstein'391 patent is a front perspective view of another prior art multiple course simulated cedar shake co er piece 100, and FIG. 2B is a right side elevational view of the comer of FIG. 2A. The comer piece 100 includes two faces 102, 104 having a pair of vertically stacked shingle impressions thereon. The comer piece 100 includes two nailing flanges 106, 108. The comer piece 100 is nailed to a comer of a structure prior to attaching siding panels, which overlap the nailing flanges 108, 106 of the comer piece 100.

[0006] Prior art comer pieces, such as comer pieces 70, 100 described above, suffer from several drawbacks. First, referring to FIG. IF, when viewing a comer of a structure covered by a stack of a plurality of comer pieces 70 such that both walls of the structure that form the comer are visible, the appearance of a random selection of shingles within each course formed on the siding panels does not continue through to the comer pieces 70 when the co er pieces 70 each have identical faces 71,73. The courses do not appear as if they terminate in a natural manner at the comers of the structure. This unnatural appearance occurs when employing either the multiple course co er piece 100, where the faces 102, 104 are identical, or when employing the single course comer piece 70, where the faces 71, 73 are identical.

[0007] Further, as best illustrated in FIG. 2B, when viewing only a single wall of a structure that includes a prior art comer piece 70 or a prior art comer piece 100, it becomes quite apparent that artificial comer pieces have been employed. A continuous and non- staggered lateral edge 110 is apparent along the entire comer of the structure from comer piece 70, 100 to comer piece 70, 100 when comer pieces 70, 100 are attached to the structure in a vertical stack, one on top of the other. The linear joint formed between the siding comer pieces and the siding panels is apparent to even a casual observer.

[0008] Therefore, there remains a need for a comer piece that provides the appearance of a more natural termination of the courses of a siding facade employing simulated cedar impression siding panels and for a comer piece that more effectively blends the comer piece into the facade to mask the presence of the comer piece and promote the overall desired appearance of a random selection of individual shingles.

Summary of the Invention

[0009] The present invention provides a comer piece for covering a comer of a stmcture defined by two mating walls of the stmcture and for use in conjunction with siding panels containing multiple shingle impression courses fastened to the mating walls. The comer piece includes first and second walls, each wall having an exterior face, an interior face, and first and second lateral edges. The second wall meets the first wall at a comer defined by the first lateral edges. The exterior faces of the first and second walls include an ornamental appearance containing a plurality of vertically stacked shingle impressions. The shingle impressions of the exterior faces are staggered at least along the second lateral edges, and the staggered shingle portion overlaps at least a portion of the siding panels when the siding panels and the comer piece are fastened to the structure.

[0010] The staggered shingle portion and the multiple shingle impression courses of the siding panels cooperate to give the appearance that the comer piece substantially blends into, or is a virtual part of, the siding panels. The comer piece provides a natural looking termination to the courses of the siding panels when viewing the stmcture from the side (i.e., when only one of the walls is visible) or when viewing the comer of the stmcture (i.e., when both of the walls of the stmcture are visible). No linear seem or joint is conspicuously formed between the comer piece and the siding panels, thereby masking the presence of a prefabricated and artificial comer member.

[0011] The above and other features of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention that is provided in connection with the accompanying drawings. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012] The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention as well as other information pertinent to the disclosure, in which:

FIG. 1A is a front perspective view of a prior art siding comer;

FIG. IB is a rear perspective view of the prior art siding comer of FIG. IB;

FIG. 1C is an enlarged fragmentery section taken along line 1C-1C of FIG. IF;

FIG. ID is an enlarged fragmentery section taken along line ID- ID of FIG. IF;

FIG. IE is an enlarged view of the comer to comer locking means of the prior art siding comer of FIG. 1A;

FIG. IF is a plan view of prior art simulated shake comers of FIG. 1 A and panels in an assembled form;

FIG. 2A is a front perspective view of a prior art siding comer having a vertically stacked shingle impression thereon;

FIG. 2B is a right side elevational view of the prior art siding comer of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is a side perspective view of an exemplary outside comer piece according to the present invention;

FIG. 3B is a rear perspective view of the exemplary comer piece of FIG. 3 A;

FIG. 3C is a first outside side elevational view of the exemplary comer piece of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3D is a second outside side elevational view of the exemplary co er piece of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3E is an inside side elevational view of the exemplary comer piece of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A is a front perspective view of an exemplary inside comer piece according to the present invention;

FIG. 4B is a side perspective view of the exemplary comer piece of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 4C is a first side elevational view of the exemplary comer piece of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 4D is a second side elevational view of the exemplary comer piece of FIG. 4A; and

FIG. 4E is an inside side elevational view of the exemplary comer piece of FIG. 4A. Detailed Description of the Invention

[0013] FIG. 3A is a side perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of an outside comer piece 200 for covering an "outside" comer of a structure. By "outside" comer piece, it is meant that the comer piece is shaped to cover an outwardly protruding or "outside" comer of a stmcture as opposed to an inwardly formed or "inside" comer of a structure, as may be covered by the inside comer piece 300 shown in FIGS. 4A-4E.

[0014] The outside comer piece 200 includes a first wall 202 and a second wall 212. The first wall 202 is defined by an exterior face 204, an interior face 206, a first lateral edge 208 and a second lateral edge 210. Likewise, the second wall 212 is defined by an exterior face 214, an interior face 216, a first lateral edge 218 and a second lateral edge 220. The second wall 212 meets the first wall 202 at a comer defined by the first lateral edges 218, 208 of the second wall 212 and first wall 202, respectively.

[0015] The exterior faces 204, 214 of the first and second walls 202, 212 each include an ornamental appearance containing a plurality of vertically stacked siding impressions formed thereon; preferably, a plurality of vertically stacked shingle impressions formed thereon; and more preferably, a plurality of vertically stacked cedar shingle impressions 230 formed thereon. Detailed impressions may be formed on the exterior faces 204, 214 by injection molding the comer piece 200. The preferred materials for forming the comer piece 200 include polyvinyl chloride (PNC) and polypropylene, although other materials such as cement, wood-polymer blends, etc. may also be suitable. The vertically stacked shingle impressions preferably match and align with the courses formed on the siding panels attached to the walls of the structure. By "course," it is meant a continuous horizontal siding layer of brick, masonry or shingle.

[0016] An exemplary outside comer piece 200 preferably includes fastening means for attaching the comer piece 200 to the comer of the stmcture. Siding panels that also include a shingle impression are attached to the walls of the stmcture, such as in a conventional nailing fashion and preferably before attaching comer pieces 200. Once the siding panels are attached to the walls of the stmcture, a first comer piece 200 may be disposed at the bottom-most end of the comer of the stmcture. The siding panels are disposed to leave the comer of the stmcture partially uncovered, at least enough to accommodate the width, designated "W" in FIG. 3B, of the nailing flanges 222 described hereafter. The comer piece 200 may then be attached to the comer of the stmcture using the fastening means. An exemplary fastening means includes at least one nailing flange 222 extending from the first and second walls 202, 212. The nailing flanges 222 are preferably pre-apertured as shown in FIGS. 3A-3E in order to facilitate attachment to the stmcture.

[0017] Once a comer piece 200 is attached to a comer of a stmcture as described above, a second corner piece 200 may be attached above the first comer piece 200 such that the bottom end of the second comer piece 200 is fitted over the top end of the first comer piece 200 as described hereafter. An exemplary comer piece 200 preferably includes cooperable catch means for securing comer pieces together. A second comer piece 200 may be fitted over a first comer piece 200 such that catches 224b disposed toward the bottom end of the second comer piece 200 fit into catches 224a disposed toward the top end of the first comer piece 200. The second comer piece 200 may then be nailed to the comer of the stmcture as described above. This assembly technique may be followed until the entire comer of the stmcture is covered by stacked comer pieces 200.

[0018] It should be apparent that the bottom of the second comer piece 200 covers the nailing flange 222 of the comer piece 200 immediately below it. The comer pieces 200 are also preferably attached to the comer such that the second lateral edges 210, 220 overlap at least a portion of the siding panels when the siding panels and comer piece 200 are attached to the stmcture. The siding panels are preferably attached, such as by nailing flanges, to the walls of the stmcture prior to attaching the comer pieces 200, but the siding panels may also be attached to the walls of the stmcture after attachment of the comer pieces 200 if the edges of the siding panels are slid under the second lateral edges 210, 220 of the comer pieces 200.

[0019] An exemplary comer piece 200 may be approximately 14" tall, although the present invention is in no manner limited to a specific size of corner piece. This exemplary size of comer piece 200 may be manufactured in a conventional injection molding process. Each shingle impression of the plurality of vertically stacked shingle impressions 230 of exemplary comer piece 200, therefore, is approximately 7" tall and designed to align with the courses of the siding panels. An exemplary comer piece 200 is also preferably approximately .125" or less in thickness, designated "T" in FIG. 3E, such that the walls 202, 212 of the comer piece 200 do not significantly protrude from the faces of the siding panels when covering at least a portion of the siding panels.

[0020] This exemplary comer piece 200 provides several benefits. The comer piece 200 may be attached to the comer of the stmcture after attaching the siding panel, as opposed to the prior art comer piece 100 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B which must be attached to the comer of the stmcture prior to the attaching the siding panels. This feature, therefore, allows a damaged siding comer piece 200 or plurality of damaged siding comer pies 200 to be removed without the added labor associated with removing and reattaching the siding panels of the attached to the stmcture.

[0021] Also, as can be seen in FIGS. 3A-3E, the shingle impression of the exterior faces 204, 214 are staggered at least along the second lateral edges 210, 220. By "staggered," it is meant that the second lateral edges of two vertically stacked shingle impressions are offset a distance from each other where the bottom of a first vertically stacked shingle impression meets the top of a second vertically stacked shingle impression such that one of the shingle impressions effectively extends to overlap a greater portion of a siding panel attached to the stmcture when the siding panel and comer piece 200 are attached to the stmcture. For example, the second lateral edges 210, 220 of each shingle impression 230 shown in FIG. 3D are offset a distance "S". This distance "S" (shown in FIG. 3D), for example, may be an approximately 1.5" to 2.0" offset.

[0022] These vertically stacked shingle impressions align with the courses of the siding panels and overlap at least a portion of the siding panels. The staggered edges 210, 220 effectively hide the intersection between a stack of comer pieces 200 and the siding panels, and no continuous straight line intersection, as described above in connection with the prior art comer piece 100 and shown in FIG. 2B, is formed. The second lateral edges 210, 220 cooperate with the plurality of vertically stacked shingle impression 230 to give the appearance that the comer piece(s) substantially blend into the adjacent siding panels and continue the shingle courses formed thereon. No seam between the siding panels and the comer pieces 200 is discernible.

[0023] The exterior faces 204, 214 of an exemplary comer piece 200 are also preferably angled from top to bottom as shown in FIGS. 3A-3E along each of the plurality of vertically stacked shingle impressions formed thereon. The bottom edge of a first shingle impression 230 is offset a distance designated as "X" in FIG. 3D from the top edge of a second shingle impression 230 stacked below the first, as shown in FIG. 3D. This offset creates the appearance that the bottom edge of the first shingle impression overlaps the top edge of the second shingle impression and also creates an aesthetic shadow effect. An exemplary offset distance "X" is approximately .375".

[0024] FIGS. 4A through 4E illustrate an exemplary interior comer piece 300. The reference numbers of FIGS. 4 A through 4E correspond to the features of exemplary outside corner piece 200 described above, only with a prime following each reference number.

[0025] Although various embodiments have been illustrated, this is for the purpose of describing, and not limiting the invention. Various modifications will become apparent to one skilled in the art and are within the scope of this invention described in the attached claims. For example, the exterior faces of the siding comers may include an ornamental appearance containing a plurality of vertically stacked siding impressions that are brick, slate, masonry or other siding impressions designed to match the courses formed on the siding panels attached to the stmcture.

Claims

We claim:

1. A comer piece for covering a comer of a structure defined by two mating walls of said stmcture and for use in conjunction with siding panels containing multiple shingle impression courses fastened to said mating walls, said comer piece comprising: first and second walls, each wall having an exterior face, an interior face, and first and second lateral edges, said second wall meeting said first wall at a comer defined by said first lateral edges, said exterior faces of said first and second walls including an ornamental appearance containing a plurality of vertically stacked shingle impressions, said shingle impressions of said exterior faces being staggered at least along said second lateral edges, said staggered shingle portion overlapping at least a portion of said siding panels when said siding panels and said comer piece are fastened to said stmcture, whereby said staggered shingle portion and said multiple shingle impression courses of said siding panels cooperate to give the appearance that said comer piece substantially blends into said siding panels.

2. The comer piece of claim 1 , further comprising fastening means for attaching said comer piece to said stmcture, said fastening means disposed such that said comer piece is detachable from said comer of said stmcture without removing said siding panels from said walls of said stmcture when said siding panels and said comer piece are fastened to said structure.

3. The comer piece of claim 2, wherein said fastening means is a nailing flange disposed at a top end of at least one of said first and second walls of said comer piece.

4. The comer piece of claim 1, further comprising cooperable catch means for securing a pair of said comer pieces to each other along said comer of said structure, said cooperable catch means disposed to secure a bottom end of a first one of said pair to a top end of a second one of said pair.

5. The comer piece of claim 1, wherein said comer piece is injection molded.

6. The comer piece of claim 5, wherein said comer piece is formed from polyvinyl chloride or polypropylene.

7. The comer piece of claim 1, wherein said comer piece is an inside comer piece.

8. The comer piece of claim 1, wherein said comer piece is an outside comer piece.

9. The comer piece of claim 1, wherein a bottom edge of a first one of said vertically stacked shingle impressions is offset from a top edge of a second one of said vertically stacked shingle impressions disposed below said first one to give the appearance that said bottom edge overlaps said top edge.

10. A molded comer piece for covering a comer of a stmcture defined by two mating walls of said stmcture and for use in conjunction with siding panels containing multiple shingle impression courses fastened to said mating walls, said comer piece comprising: first and second walls, each wall having an exterior face, an interior face, and first and second lateral edges, said second wall meeting said first wall at a comer defined by said first lateral edges, said exterior faces of said first and second walls including an ornamental appearance containing a plurality of vertically stacked shingle impressions, said shingle impressions of said exterior faces being staggered at least along said second lateral edges, said staggered shingle portion overlapping at least a portion of said siding panels when said siding panels and said comer piece are fastened to said stmcture, whereby said staggered shingle portion and said multiple shingle impression courses of said siding panels cooperate to give the appearance that said comer piece substantially blends into said siding panels; and fastening means for attaching said comer piece to said structure, said fastening means disposed such that said comer piece is detachable from said comer of said structure without removing said siding panels from said walls of said stmcture when said siding panels and said comer piece are fastened to said stmcture.

11. The comer piece of claim 10, further comprising cooperable catch means for securing a pair of said comer pieces to each other, said cooperable catch means disposed to secure a bottom end of a first one of said pair to a top end of a second one of said pair.

12. The comer piece of claim 10, wherein said fastening means is a nailing flange disposed at a top end of at least one of said first and second walls.

13. The comer piece of claim 10, wherein said comer piece is formed from polyvinyl chloride or polypropylene.

14. The comer piece of claim 10, wherein said corner piece is an inside comer piece.

15. The comer piece of claim 10, wherein said comer piece is an outside comer piece.

16. The comer piece of claim 10, wherein a bottom edge of a first one of said vertically stacked shingle impressions is offset from a top edge of a second one of said vertically stacked shingle impressions disposed below said first one to give the appearance that said bottom edge overlaps said top edge.

17. An injection molded co er piece for covering a comer of a stmcture defined by two mating walls of said stmcture and for use in conjunction with siding panels containing multiple shingle impression courses fastened to said mating walls, said comer piece comprising: first and second walls, each wall having an exterior face, an interior face, and first and second lateral edges, said second wall meeting said first wall at a comer defined by said first lateral edges, said exterior faces of said first and second walls including an ornamental appearance containing a plurality of vertically stacked shingle impressions, said shingle impressions of said exterior faces being staggered at least along said second lateral edges, said staggered shingle portion overlapping at least a portion of said siding panels when said siding panels and said comer piece are fastened to said stmcture, whereby said staggered shingle portion and said multiple shingle impression courses of said siding panels cooperate to give the appearance that said comer piece substantially blends into said siding panels; a nailing flange for securing said co er piece to said stmcture disposed such that said corner piece is detachable from said corner of said stmcture without removing said siding panels from said walls of said stmcture when said siding panels and said comer piece are fastened to said stmcture; and a cooperable catch means for securing a pair of said comer pieces to each other, said cooperable catch means disposed to secure a bottom end of a first one of said pair to a top end of a second one of said pair.

18. The comer piece of claim 17, wherein said comer piece is an inside comer piece.

19. The comer piece of claim 17, wherein said comer piece is an outside comer piece.

20. The comer piece of claim 17, wherein said comer piece is formed from polyvinyl chloride or polypropylene.

21. The comer piece of claim 17, wherein a bottom edge of a first one of said vertically stacked shingle impressions is offset from a top edge of a second one of said vertically stacked shingle impressions disposed below said first one to give the appearance that said bottom edge overlaps said top edge.